More Than You Think You Are
by Provocative and Talkative
Summary: Crystal Tokyo was supposed to last forever – and yet, when the world came crashing down around them, Hino Rei wasn't surprised in the slightest.
1. Prologue

Alrighty, so... first story on this site. Long time reader, avid fan, blah blah blah. I didn't really want to make the commitment to writing a fanfic and kinda feared it sucking out loud, but I was bored after my physics lab this morning and figured that I may as well try my hand. I'd ask you to be gentle, but that's just crazy.

People who don't want to read about anything outside of sunshine, daisies, unicorns (though who knows, there might be one of those later on), and perfectly straight couples really shouldn't read this story. Simple enough. If you're fine with violence, cussing, homosexuality, etc... then by all means, drop me a review. Reviews are love, as I've come to learn. It's short, but hey, it's just a prologue. Sorry if it's a bit jumpy, I'm running on two hours of sleep.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any part of PGSM, including the original plot or the characters. I'm merely borrowing them for this piece of fiction.

Prologue – The End

Crystal Tokyo was supposed to last forever – and yet, when the world came crashing down around them, Hino Rei wasn't surprised in the slightest.

Annoying though it was, she couldn't honestly say she hadn't seen it coming from a mile away.

For fourteen long years, they'd been preserved and just... normal. They'd hit eighteen and, physically, hadn't aged a day since. It'd all been collecting wisdom, growing in _other_ ways. For some people, like Mizuno Ami, that meant studying every book she could touch, writing a few research papers, and eventually becoming a record-keeper for their time.

Most of them, however, took the time to find love. Get 'hitched', take a trip down the coast and pretend that this ultimate peace would last forever. Haruka and Michiru. Neo-Queen Serenity and Endymion. Makoto and Ami. And because they had this love, they believed. Believed that the world could continue to exist if they ignored the fact that the balance was gone. Love, peace, admirable goals. But it's just that. They were _goals_. You were never actually supposed to removed the evil in the world. It was essential. You needed to see the good come out on top, of course, but there needed to be something to oppose. Something to fight for. Someone – ah, fuck it.

Her flaming fist descended upon a blackened head before her, the many odd creatures of shadow bending about her to the wills of their cackling creator like marionettes. Each moved with an odd grace, like a strange dance as they evaded her just to attack once again. She found herself wishing she hadn't been fighting with a certain blonde earlier.

Needed to warn them. Tell them.

The city outskirts may have had the best bars in town, but it really wasn't worth the near-death experience. "Mars Flame – urgh!" One of the beasts barreled into her side, slicing inwards as it pushed. It giggled like a child as she fought against its comrades surrounding her arms, attempting to keep her from hitting at the fucking menace that was currently making a good dent in her physical being. "Fire Soul!"

The bitches hopped away as the flames consumed those nearest to her, the cutter stopping his work as fire licked at one of his lop-sided ears. "You bastards really picked the _wrong_ day to mess with me." Senshi of Passion, right? Well, she was passionate about killing them. That had to count for something.

One hopped onto the black plate covering her chest, cracking the reinforced armour. She did not bother to hide her surprise, taking a step backwards with the sheer force of it. Though it hadn't seen many battles beyond a few semi-friendly matches against her comrades, particularly _her_, she had expected it to hold up a bit better than that.

Oh well. She had no plans to die that day.

"Venus Love Me Chain!" The next thing she knew, the minion on her chest had been forcefully removed, revealing cracked armour and a stunned former miko. She quickly regained her composure, and did what any true member of the Martian court would have done – she scowled at her saviour, violet eyes tinged with a bit of red glaring at the intruder.

Venus' white suit was a stark contrast to her own, though very much of the same build. In the front, the golden symbol of Venus lay emblazoned, as well as once on each shoulder pad. They hadn't been able to design their armour – that had been Mercury's doing, at the beginning of Crystal Tokyo. No wonder they weren't holding up in battle. Nobody had been expecting war.

"Hey Mars, you plan on helping me fight these guys, or are you just going to stare all day?" Help? _Help_?

The raven-haired fighter scowled. If anything, the other woman was the _help_. She'd had it under control before that pompous, annoying spit had waddled into the area to be all _heroic_. Another set of glowing eyes fixed itself on her, and she moved herself into position. She'd show her which one of them was _helping_.

"Mars Flame Sniper!" The fire arrow struck true, piercing her enemy right between the eyes. She turned to their leader and gave her an arrogant half-smirk, receiving only a smile in response before the pair leapt back into the fray. In a short while, only one of the vile creatures remained, scratches present on the bits of skin of both girls, armour scratched and broken. Mars killed it with a ball of flame before taking off in the direction of the palace, Venus hurrying along beside her.

"Mars! Wait! Mars, it's - "

She ignored the calls of the blonde as she raced towards the palace, feet carrying her with the athleticism someone might have expected of any soldier. "Mars – _Rei_, it's - "

What else could she have done but run towards it? Blindly, of course, seeing the swarms upon the palace. The people who had thought themselves protected by the new age falling to their knees, screaming in anguish. Being cut into pieces. Dying, like they had died before.

And, from the sight of Jupiter up ahead, would again.

She felt her heart leap into her throat as she tried to push through the throng of enemies suddenly around her, jumping at her with claws and teeth, towards her friend with a fervour. Venus was something of the past, her barked orders drowned out by the screams of people around her. So many people screaming.

She lost Jupiter somewhere in the midst of the enemies. She lost sight of everything familiar, in fact, and it was then that Mars realized she had been pushed down, righting herself with an almighty yell as she began to fight them tooth and nail. Fire blazed paths where she needed it to, only to have said pathways filled again.

If only they hadn't been so arrogant. What made them think that they were safe? Just because they had been _promised_ an age of peace. Honestly.

Then she saw her, struggling as bits of her armour fell. Venus, apparently having followed her into the mess of enemies, drowning in their darkness. Not quite within reach, but close enough that she could save her. Save her, and risk Jupiter. Risk the _Queen_.

For a moment, she was just Rei again. Human and insecure, not the hardened warrior of fire. The flaming arrow formed between her hands, shot off in the direction of one of the largest creatures jumping for Venus as she began to push her way towards the pair, letting out a feral growl as she tried to fight off the beasts.

They hardly noticed the explosions all around them as some of the things began to self-destruct and others triggered perfectly planted bombs. The last thing Mars remembered was flinging herself on top of their leader and, for a moment, seeing blue eyes widen in something akin to fear, perhaps confusion... and then, the regret.

Of course, no part of this day mattered. They died, and that was that. Every warrior, every soldier, and even the Queen and her family. The world as everybody knew it ended that day, and a new Earth was created.

And oh, how fitting that this particular tale begin at the end.

Alrighty, that was WEAK. And I'm terribly sorry. Essentially, I just needed to kill everyone. Heh. Promise it gets better from here! I've got some seriously awesome ideas for this story, which, so you know, is going to be primarily MinakoxRei, featuring a few other pairings and some twisty bits for your reading pleasure. Reviews make me update faster, yep. ^^


	2. Chapter 1

Because of the amount of reviews I got in such a short amount of time (seriously, you guys rocked my world), I decided to get a wiggle on and write you the first chapter of this fic. ^^ Here's hoping you all enjoy it. Sorry that it's a little bit laid-back, but I promise loads of goodies in the next chapter. Which is also already partially-written. Heeee...

Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own shit.

Chapter One: Back to Earth

"_Don't forget to sign out before leaving the school today. As it is the first day back for returning students, and first day in general for the rest of you, we understand it's easy to forget protocol. Please leave your name and fingerprint at the main office before you head home to enjoy your evenings. We wish you a pleasant Tuesday, and welcome you fully back to Tazaki High. We hope to see all of you excel this year as well."_

The monitor flicked off, not that it had shown all that much to begin with. The young girl, sitting in the back as she had every year prior to this one, packed her things a bit slower than the others in her class as she listened to the usual hustle and bustle of the end of another monotonous day at school. First day back, of course, it was always the worst. People talking about how they'd spent their summers going home. How so-and-so's connection to The Hand That Feeds had gotten them an express ticket to Venus for the summer, where they'd shopped until they dropped. But oh, hadn't you heard the news? No, seriously, Koichi was honestly _dating_ her. Scandal!

She'd only been in the building for eight hours, and it had already proven to be far more than enough.

Her tattered bag packed, the young woman stood, a slender and attractive young woman amidst various others. Though they didn't bother to look at her like they used to (they'd either been scared away or had given up, for the most part), it hardly detracted at all from her beauty. It was not difficult to tell from which planet she hailed.

It was somewhat harder to ask _her_ for that information. Rumour had it she hadn't spoken to anyone in years. They murmured about her in the hallways sometimes. She didn't seem to care if they talked about her, so what were they hurting by doing so? Momoko had been in her lab partner one year, and she hadn't said a word to her the entire time. And Jun had been assigned to that project with her, and (though she'd done all the work), she hadn't said anything at all.

She wasn't just quiet. She was eerily quiet. And whenever someone tried to hard to get to know her, she gave them _that_ look. The glare. Narrowed eyes – violet, like anyone else's from Mars – would be cast in _their_ direction, telling them that _they_ had displeased her. Which, of course, nobody wanted to do. Mars was a wasteland. They had all heard tales of how people escaped it, flocked to other _solar systems_ looking for peace.

It was rare that they choose to stay inside of the Dark Moon Kingdom, let alone brought to the hub. Dark Earth was difficult to get passage to, even for Venusians or Mercurians, both highly sought after commodities.

So why the Martian? Why the cold, burning stare? They liked to theorize. It was something to do. The best part? She understood that entirely. She got no thrill though, hiding herself from them. She went to school for one purpose only – to pursue her education. After school it was all work, her honour-bound duty to her foster parents, and homework. Sleep, get up, do some cleaning about the house and shop, go to school, learn, come back, work. Repeat cycle without batting an eye.

For what it was worth, she could at the very least see the monotony of the cycle.

The soles of her worn sneakers hit the ground as she made to leave the classroom, sure that she wouldn't be jostled and bumped into now that the last of them were filing out of the classroom. With her head bowed, raven bangs hiding her eyes from the tall people who surrounded her, she left the area, fleeing the building like not doing so would have her killed.

The walk home was lonely – and her favourite part of any given day. She enjoyed the quiet that the grey skies brought her, watching as various sink holes formed in the sky. Hn. Quiet could only last so long, she supposed, hearing the approach of another space vessel. The large constructs flew about frequently, though tended to carry very few passengers. They were a means of trading goods between the planets – nothing more, nothing less.

She'd been on one once, of course, so there was little to wonder about. She'd learned in school of their history, their build, how they flew and worked, how they reached the speeds they did without shaking those inside like eggs. There was no curiousity there, just the same dull fascination each time one fluttered on by.

They looked like... well, boats. Not that boats existed outside of history texts. She'd longingly stared at one once, wondering what it would've been like to have existed during a time of _cars_ and of _planes_ and _trains_ and _horses_.

See, now, _there_ was something to think about. Unfortunately, she seemed to have arrived 'home'. Or at least, that building she was located within.

The kanji on the small plate outside the building indicated that it was a shop, though she knew full well that the upper half of the miniature semi-dome was where they lived. They being herself and the Tsukino family.

Anyone at school who thought she didn't talk much there should've seen her in that place. Not when she was working, no – sadly, customer interaction was a part of the job. But, after having lived with the Tsukino's since the tender age of four, it was safe to say that they would've been lucky to have known more than just her name, height, and hair colour. She wished them good morning's on occasion, and very rarely left them with more than a nod about anything.

If she didn't answer the questions of customers in the shop, they may have concluded that she was mute.

There was one occupant of the house, of course, who just loved to push the limits of their foster child. Tsukino Usagi, same age, same height, entirely different person. She'd been born on the Earth itself, and had thus never encountered the problems that many others had when procuring passage to the planet. Outgoing, optimistic, _obnoxious_, and a few other words starting with the lovely letter 'O' would be the best way to describe her.

So maybe she talked to _one_ person regularly. It wasn't like they had any friendly exchanges. It was mostly that idiot talking anyway. Jabbering on and on about things she didn't even _care_ about -

"Oh Rei! I forgot how you're always so much later than me coming home! Get inside, it's cold out again! You'll freeze. Honestly, trying to be all big and tough. You never wear nearly enough out there!" Usagi chided, smacking the Martian on her arm as soon as she entered.

For her part, all Rei did was sigh, head bowed in slight resignation. This was life. Big ol' welcome back to the norm, she supposed.

The summer had been... interesting, to say the least. She'd been allowed safe passage back to Mars for two months of it, and though the blonde before her had pouted and complained that she would be missing out. But it wasn't as if there had been a summer yet where she'd stayed on the Earth. The Tsukino's liked to think that their charge simply missed her parents and was taking her opportunity to see them, but seeing as how she'd never even mentioned still _having_ parents, they could only safely assume so much.

She'd arrived on their doorstep last night, soaking wet with her the few possessions she'd taken with her in the suitcase by her side and knapsack slung over her shoulder. There wasn't any rain, and though they asked why, exactly, she was so wet, Rei hadn't answered them with anything more than a shrug.

The raven-haired girl had been absolutely ravenous that morning, like she hadn't eaten in a year as she tore into her breakfast and more. Tsukino Ikiko had kept piling things in front of her, hoping that she had made enough food to sate the Martian's appetite. It was always like this when she returned from Mars. She acted starved and had lost the weight to prove she just may have been. Whenever someone walked by, violet eyes watched them carefully as she hunched over her food, gulping it down so fast there was no possible way she could've tasted it at all.

"Rei? Are you even listening to me? Ugh, you can be such a meanie sometimes!" And there it was. Blue eyes filling with crocodile tears as she stared at the only person she had ever considered to be something like a sister.

Sighing, she looked at her blankly, staring straight at the blonde. "Ah, good! I was just asking, how was Mars? I know you must have been real excited to get back here, yeah? I'm sorry I wasn't here to greet you when you got back home, I was asleep. And then I slept in this morning, so I didn't get to see you then either... eheh... so really, this is our first encounter after months apart! Oh, hold me Rei!"

She flung herself at the Martian who, anticipating this, stepped to the side with a bored look on her face. Usagi smacked face-first into the wall and whimpered, rubbing her reddened nose with a sniff. "Oh, you... you... !" Shaking a fist at the offensive member of the household, she could've sworn she saw a ghost of a smirk cross Rei's features before the other girl headed off.

Sigh. Why did she have to be such a goshdarn mystery all the fricking time?

She followed her upstairs, watching as the other girl carefully put down her bag, headed towards the kitchen for a quick break before she started her work at the shop below again. Usagi snickered, knowing full-well that her mother had other plans concerning Rei and her military-style routine. After all, this was the last year she'd be living with them. She would be off to university after this year, or maybe go back to Mars for good. They had to do _something_ to make it worthwhile!

"Rei-chan, good to see you here! We wanted to introduce you to someone," Ikiko's voice floated from the kitchen as the raven-haired girl stood, collecting a glass from the cupboard. She needed to stand on tip-toes to do it, as there was a counter that must be leaned atop and the middle shelves were those with the drinking glasses.

A young man shuffled into the area, stubble marring his face almost as badly as his terrible haircut. One couldn't even see his eyes past the mop of brown that he called hair, Rei noted with a small sniff, violet eyes narrowing as he blushed profusely upon seeing her. "Yuuchirou-kun, meet Hino Rei," the eldest Tsukino woman introduced, the young man stumbling forwards with his jaw essentially down to his knees.

He stammered out a quick, "P-pleased to meet you... oh yeah... totally pleased to meet you, Rei-san." His hand took hers without her even offering it, giving the appendage several quick shakes. He loved her already, Usagi could tell. Didn't even care that she didn't even nod in response to his presence, removing her hand and going back to doing what she had been moments ago.

"Yuuchirou is going to help us out with the shop, so you won't have to this year. Isn't that wonderful, Rei-chan?" she supplied for her mother, seeing the Martian freeze just slightly. Twitch.

"Yes, we thought it best that you try having a bit of time to yourself this year. After all, I'm sure you're looking at universities and possibilities for next year. We wanted your last year of high school to be dedicated to whatever you wanted to do, and Yuuchirou was more than willing to help." _And work for peanuts._

At least, that was what Rei had gathered from everybody's forced smiles as she collected her previously dropped schoolbag, shrugged, and exited the room. Apparently, she was going to have a lot more time to herself from now on.

So be it. There was always meditation.

"Oh, Rei-chan, it's so exciting! Now you'll be able to spend time with the rest of us! You know, the others are coming over later, and I'm sure they'd love to meet you for more than two seconds!" Oh right. There was always that.

She would have preferred to meditate for the rest of the night and do her homework in the peace of her room. But there was something in Usagi's bright, blue eyes that said she just wasn't going to take no for an answer. "I won't take no for an answer, Rei! You'll come do your homework with us, right? I know you're in some of the same classes, and your marks are extraordinary. Kaa-san is always saying how I should study like you... eheh..."

Well, it wasn't like she had a choice here. She gave a small nod, violet eyes widening in pure fear at the squeal that her foster sister emitted as she jumped on her, successfully catching the Martian in a hug this time around. "Oh, thank you thank you _thank you_ Rei-chan! You'll love the others. And they'll love you. Just be your usual charming self – actually, maybe talk a bit more. A lot more. And smile. And they will love you, oh, they'll love you so much!"

As Usagi went on and on beside her, she couldn't help but wonder what, exactly, she had gotten herself into. It was that day that Rei decided she hated Yuuchirou, as well. For coming along and providing the Tsukino family with an excuse to try and turn her into... into...

She didn't even want to think about it.

***

The sound of those three entering the building had never filled her with as much dread as it did in that moment. After having been pestered by _news_ for slightly over an hour, she was now to be subjected to teenage girls. The regular sorts. A Mercurian, a Jovian, and a Venusian, if memory served her correctly. She had barely noticed them before, nothing beyond their race. They had no names, no faces. They weren't supposed to.

And here she was, about to make _friends_. Or so Usagi claimed. She really wasn't too keen on the idea of chatting up people who had been strangers to her for years.

Maybe she could do some housework for the Tsukino's, sweep and mop, do the dishes... something. _Anything_.

"Reeeeeiiiiii-chan!" _Anything_!

"Oh, Rei-san is back?" the tallest of the four entered the room, looking at her with dull surprise. The Martian shifted uncomfortably under the stares of her peers as they followed suite, wishing she had the ability to become invisible. Or, for that matter, immaterial. Then she could simply rematerialize... somewhere else. _Anywhere_ else.

"Oh yeah," Usagi stated enthusiastically, leaving her friends to go sling an arm about the most antisocial person in the room. "She got back so late last night that I didn't get to see her, though. And then this morning, eheh... I kind of... missed seeing her... you know... she gets up early..."

"More like you slept in again! You forget, I'm in your first period class now!"

"Like you're any better, Minako-chan! I saw you just sitting down when I got there!"

"Ehhh! W-well... at least I made it before the final tone!"

At this, Usagi gasped, and promptly stuck out her tongue. Immaturely, this 'Minako' folded her arms across her chest and did the same, the pair of them engaging in a contest of raspberry blowing and sideways glares.

The Mercurian sighed, and Rei decided to move a bit more towards her. She felt like she, at least, might be _somewhat_ tolerable. Her blue hair, cropped shorter than she had ever seen a woman's hair before leaving Mars, was the only reason she knew what planet the girl hailed from.

She looked curiously at Rei as the raven-haired girl approached, distracted from the action for a moment as the Jovian stepped in in an attempt to separate the blondes as they started to playfully swat at one another. "Hey guys, come on, calm down... remember what happened last time. I – Minako-chan! Usagi-chan!"

The pair stumbled towards Rei and the Mercurian. The former looked a bit horrified as they tugged at one another's hair – the latter simply moved out of the way.

With a loud crash, Rei found herself underneath someone else, groaning and rolling away from the weight as she rubbed the back of her head. Urgh. Not exactly what she had thought Usagi meant when she said that she'd be 'making friends'.

"Owwwww! Minako-baka!" Usagi chided, rubbing her aching rear end as she got to her feet, before gasping a bit. "Rei-chan! Rei-chan, speak to me! Are you alright? Did that baka hurt you? I know, she's heavy."

"Hey, you're the one who eats all the sweets!"

A gasp. "What did you just say? Hey, come on, you're all... all _muscular_ from your _sports_. And I do not eat that many sweets!"

"Are you saying my form isn't _feminine_?"

"Oh, not again," the brunette groaned, holding a hand in front of green eyes as if to shield herself from the things happening before her.

"Usagi-chan," an unfamiliar voice sounded, the other four pausing to the rising Martian, watching as she rubbed the back of her head in agitation. "I'm fine. Let's go study." Get it over with, and then find a way to avoid these girls for the rest of her life. At all costs.

The girl who had fallen on her stopped to pick her jaw up off the floor as Rei left, blue eyes following her for a moment. "Umm, Usagi-chan?" she asked after a moment. "Call me whatever you want, but... did she just speak?"

The Terrestrial, for what it was worth, looked a bit confused herself, covering it up by laughing a bit. "Oh yeah... probably means she's really angry with you for falling on her. Shame, Minako-chan! You should go apologize!"

"Or we could, well, study... she seems to want to," the blue-haired girl suggested shyly, earning herself a couple of nods as they followed Rei to the living room.

The girl had taken the only single seat in the room, leaving the loveseat and couch for the other four. At least she wouldn't have to have them near her again. Too many invasions of her personal space in one day tended to make her feel restless.

Usagi, however, came right over and sat down on her, peeking over the book Rei had been using to hide herself to stare at her foster sister. Grunting in response, the older of the pair took a moment to stare at her, one violet eye twitching.

"Reeeeiiii-chan... come sit on the couch! It will be hard for you to study all the way over here."

"Iie... I think it might be easier for her to study so far away from you," the Jovian teased as she came over, deciding to take some initiative and do what no one had bothered to yet. "Hey Rei-san. Sorry about the scene earlier."

She nodded, taking that to be the truth. She had already determined that the brunette was the peacemaker of the group, though a poor leader. She had little authority with them, it seemed. "That said, I think I'm going to agree with your choice of study topic. History and I are already having a bit of a falling out, and the year's only just begun," she offered, scratching her cheek a bit embarrassedly as a sheepish smile crossed her features.

Rei hadn't even been picky about what text she'd collected upon reaching the room, and truth be told, she had yet to read a single word on the page before her. She'd been busy trying to calm herself. Find her center and go on from there.

"I'm sorry for falling on you, Rei-san," a voice offered, and she looked up to see cerulean eyes staring at her with the utmost sincerity. "You'll study with me, right? I'm not exactly the best when it comes to history," Minako stated with a lopsided grin, patting the space on the couch beside her.

And, as Rei stood and moved almost mechanically to that place and the usual chatter of teenage girls broke out all around her, she could only think of the person beside her and how strange it felt to be sitting there with her in that moment.

Wait, strange? No... _good._ And that really _was_ strange.

x0x

Alright! Sorry for the chapter being a bit boring, but I really just wanted to get this sucker and the prologue over with. ^^;

**anon** ; Thanks so much! I hope you'll still like it as the story progresses. ^^

**Graceful Amethyst** ; Thank you very, very much. ^^ I hope you'll still find the plot interesting as I get around to it, since the prologue was meant to be a short and sweet ending of sorts. If you're still interested in beta reading for me after this chapter (I'll understand completely if you aren't), then I do hope we can get in touch! And oh, my first language isn't English either. ^^

**Axilestyn** ; Thanks! It's amazing what you can do once you... kill everybody. xD; Oops.

**Kythil** ; Thank you! I enjoy your work as well. ^^ Hopefully we can keep inspiring one another, get a solid amount of ReixMina out there!

**WITS** ; I cannot accurately express my thanks. You did more than just review a short prologue. ^^ If I could write you as much as I wanted to here, I'm sure I'd rival the size of the prologue itself. xD; I'll definitely be sending you a PM sometime, perhaps just to shoot the ReixMina breeze. Also, if you ever want to bounce ideas off of me, I'd be more than willing to toss some right back. xD Those of us who are too lazy to write stories must stick together, after all! I've been writing this to avoid my studying/doing various university assignments. xD; Mark of a bad student, but Reinako fan, it seems! And oh, the size of your review positively _thrilled_ me. I literally had a little squee over it in my dorm room.

**gurjhime** ; Hehe. ^^ Thank you! I haven't read a fic yet where Crystal Tokyo got to bite the dust, and where I'm hoping to start introducing a lot of futuristic ideas in chapter two, I figured, why the hell not? I hope you'll enjoy where this fic goes!

**ShinyMushroom** ; Thank you! Hope this update can tide you over until the next one. I promise, it's going to start getting a bit more interesting from here on out. ^^

**Spikesagitta** ; Yes, yes I just killed off everyone. Again – oops. xD; Welcome to the future, I suppose! Rebirth abounds (though nobody knows it yet). I hope I'm keeping enough mystery in the story to keep you interested, at least for now. ^^


	3. Chapter 2

Welp, this took longer than it should've. =/ I got it back from my beta (Graceful Amethyst – much thanks to her for putting up with me! =D) on the 21st, which is the same day I sent it to her, and sadly was away at a friend's house for the weekend at that time. xD; So here's the new chapter, and I'll make the next one super awesome (eh, I hope) to make up for the delay.

Disclaimer: I do not own BSSM. PGSM was a typo. xD Though I don't own it either, this fic is BSSM-based. Sorry for any previous confusion! ^^

Chapter Two: Across the Wire

It was a well-known fact that the The Eye in the Sky watched them all – and an even better-known fact that getting caught doing something against the unquestionable reign of The White Regime could get your face and name out on The Wire in less time than it would take you to blink. And once it was on The Wire, it was on your home viewscreens. On the giant monitors that lined city streets.

Which was most likely why images of Sailor Mars were _everywhere_. She'd been a problem on Mars for as long as anyone could remember. Granted, that was probably only the past two or three years, and usually quite sparingly. You heard whispers that someone was playing dress-up again, and it filled you with the usual dread. Because nobody wanted the world to change. They conveniently chose not to remember what had happened over a thousand years ago. Conveniently rewrote their history books to include that the Guardian Senshi, and the Outer Senshi, as well as Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion had been tyrants.

Crystal Tokyo was forgotten as it had been, an era of peace, and replaced in the minds of people as the villain. They lived under the power of The Hand That Feeds, because they enjoyed doing so. Because the thing's goddamn name was accurate. It fed. It could nourish a populace, provided said populace didn't revolt.

After the fall of Crystal Tokyo, people knew only a few things. The survivors – rescued, of course, by The White Regime – had been sent to various planets based on their attitudes. Those who accepted the Regime immediately were given the great honor of being able to live on the moon. Others stayed on Earth. As the years rolled on, more and more planets were made habitable again, though all contained powerful mutagens that seemed to affect people.

An example. The scholars on the moon and Earth, those working closely with The Regime, were sent to Mercury. After about six generations, there wasn't a hair colour but blue. Their IQ's could not be rivaled. Their technology was so far advanced. They created The Eye in the Sky.

Case in point. The mutagens, while existent, were for the most part not detrimental in any way.

Soon, there were only a few who stood opposed to The White Regime. They called themselves activists, people who remembered Crystal Tokyo and just refused to buy this bullshit about an era of peace. They were suspicious. They were rebellious.

And thus, they were a problem.

So they were sent to the least habitable of all the planets, most likely in hopes that they would die. Mars had been the first project of The White Regime – and it hadn't entirely been successful. People there seemed to acquire a certain bloodlust that drove them absolutely wild in no time at all. Soon, all the activists on Earth lived there. Anyone who had ever bothered to voice an opinion. It shut the rest of them up.

People who survived Mars did so by keeping quiet, building their strength, and always being on their guard. They were considered feral and violent by the rest of the planets under The Regime. Maybe they were right. The mutagens there seemed to tamper with their ability to survive longer than thirty years. Made them strong, but not as strong as some other planets. Fast, but not the fastest. Violet-eyed, hot-tempered. Occasionally insane.

Most of society chose to ignore the rumors that they could see into the future.

Monsters started attacking Mars with little to no warning. They formed camps, attacked the Martians with vigor. They'd been at war for about eight hundred years. That was, until this _Sailor Mars_ had set into them so ferociously. Tearing at their beings with what people had heard were arrows of fire. Great flames that she manipulated.

Of course, no one had heard a thing about Sailor Mars until she started acting out on _Earth_. It was Regime soldiers, known as The Feet Who March. They were akin to what policemen had been in previous millennia. Well, to most people, anyway.

Most of the people on Mars still knew better than to believe that. It was the reason they were still in exile. The reason most Martians didn't ever leave their home planet. Why Rei was and always would be an exceptional case to study.

How she had been granted passage to and from Earth was anyone's guess.

A shot of black energy came barreling in the masked woman's direction, raven bangs framing a golden tiara with a sparkling red jewel at the center. She leapt backwards to avoid it, listening to the sounds of the men around her. Their eyes black, their souls the same.

"_Sailor Mars, menace to society, once again kills innocents in the night. Watch out for a masked young woman with dark hair and a sailor soldier uniform."_

She brought her hands close to her face, focusing for a moment as violet eyes stared at the lot of them. Sailor Mars did not smile as she sent off a powerful burst of fire, needing to only say two words to summon the flames to purge the Earth of the men before her. "_Fire Soul_!"

The last of the five she had initially come across sneered, glowing green for a moment before he shot off another blast of energy, blade-like in form. It grazed her side, making the girl snarl in a most unfriendly fashion. "Heh. Didn't like that, did you? Maybe you should think before you try to take on The Feet Who March. We're an extension of The White Regime, you know."

"Shadow Regime," she corrected, eyes narrowing. "You, who dare call yourselves _white_ anything. Your impure presence shall not be missed. _Fire Soul_!"

The man erupted into the familiar crackling fire before turning to ash, a pendant left of what had been a person. She stopped now, looking to the sky. She knew she was being watched. She'd seen herself all over the city. Been talked about like she was the enemy. Sighing, she bowed her head, turning and taking to a run as she did. She needed to move before more came.

They hadn't had what she was looking for anyway.

An angry, red stain marred the white side of her fuku, the remnants of the energy blade from before. She didn't like this – lately, it had all been injuries on her part. Injuries and more and more enemies. She was patient, yes, but anyone in Mars' position would have started to get just a little bit frustrated when it came to this. A fruitless search and wounds that were getting harder and harder to hide.

The red mask on her face kept her identity a secret, thankfully. That, and the magic that seemed to cast itself over her. Honestly, how many _Martians_ made it to Earth each year? Five? It shouldn't have been so hard for them to figure out.

But it was like it just never occurred to them that Sailor Mars could be from _Mars_. Kinsei.

Ducking into a nearby building, she felt herself become naked for a moment, thin material covering her form before she was once again in her street clothes, save the mask. Groaning as she looked at her side, Rei immediately regretted wearing a white top. Blood stains were difficult to hide, and Usagi wasn't one to miss a stain on clothing.

As much of an airhead as she was, she sure loved clothing. And noticed nearly every thread fibre there was to it. She'd been able to pass off a spot of blood on her jeans from before as a ketchup stain, but this was growing a little too quickly for that. "Artemis!" she called, hearing something rustle behind her.

On cue, a small, white cat with bright eyes and a golden crescent moon on his forehead appeared, looking to her hopefully. "Any luck finding - "

"No." He drank in her appearance then, not sure whether he should miss the old Rei. He remembered her well – miko robes and clothing from the nineteen-nineties otherwise. This one was very in tune with the times, so it seemed. He disapproved of the changes fashion had suffered in the past one-thousand-three-hundred-and-some years. Though jeans were still in style, they were... different, somehow. The material felt the same as he remembered, but they wore it with patterns in it, and large loops of a softer material often hung from it. Rei's were black most of the time. They had taken to bright colors, and their designs were eccentric at _best_. Her top, for example, would never have been seen in the times preceding Crystal Tokyo. It had one sleeve only, which hooked around her thumb. The other hand wore a glove with no fingers, black to match the strange... additions to her jeans. He was glad that Converse shoes had stood this test of time.

At least something was familiar.

He regretted that he only remembered his Martian charge and her clothing style, however. He tried desperately to recall the people who had been in her life at the time. Who had made her smile like he'd seen in his dreams, when the memories came to him.

The white cat hopped up onto a nearby crate, looking at her side and wincing as best a cat could. It looked like a clean slice, but she was bleeding. "That'll be hard to hide," he admitted, ignoring her 'no shit' look. He'd learned that this Rei spoke far less than the previous, and yet, still managed to be just as sarcastic. If not, then more so.

Heaven forbid he ever wind up having to look after an easy one for once.

Whoa, where had that thought come from? He shook his head, looking carefully outside. "Come on... let's head back home." She nodded and scooped him into her arms, carrying him back in spite of the pain in her side. He felt horrid, having her carry him around. He could've walked, but somehow, he didn't think she wanted him to.

It was like how she liked to sleep with him on the bed, occasionally touching him. She trusted him. She trusted him more than she trusted anyone else in the world, and it still wasn't enough for him to know anything about her.

He felt it his honor-bound duty to protect her, though. Artemis wanted to retain her trust, to keep her alive this time. He'd failed them in the past... he'd failed... so many times...

Not this time. He looked to her, knowing somehow that he had this time the charge with the most determination. She'd keep on, just because she knew she had to. He only prayed that they'd get some help sometime soon.

Even having _one_ more senshi would've helped.

***

"Riiiise and shiiiine Rei-chan!" Oh, that voice... she groaned, rolling over and perfectly keen on _not_ greeting the day. Her clothing from the previous night clung to her form, the blood-stained shirt matted into the wound. Artemis woke up with a mewl, staring at Usagi pathetically, as if begging her to not interrupt him so.

Cat naps were important to cats like himself. Regular, ordinary cats who didn't have crescent moons on their heads. Indeed, Artemis was all white in that moment, rolling over cutely and batting a paw at Usagi as she violently shook Rei's sleeping form.

Hissing, he leapt from the bed, trotting out to the kitchen then for a bit of food. He couldn't help his charge then, not without freaking out the normal people. She would have to handle herself this time around.

"Reiiii-chaaaaaaan... it's not like you to sleep in so late! It's already eight-thirty-two! We're late!" That seemed to rouse the Martian, grunting as she pulled herself out from under the covers. She realized her mistake too late as Usagi gasped, immediately placing her hand over Rei's ribcage. The dark-haired of the two grunted in pain, wincing as the Tsukino immediately began to make a very loud fuss. "Mama! _Maaaamaaaaaaaa_! Rei-chan is hurt!"

Rei slapped a hand over Usagi's mouth, violet eyes wide as the other girl exhibited an unusual amount of strength and easily pushed her away, running down the hall crying for her mother. Groaning, she sat back onto her bed and prepared for whatever was about to come her way. Her mind raced, trying to create excuses as she thought on how the elder Tsukino would react.

The pitying cry she let out as soon as she entered the room was a good enough answer, Ikuko running to embrace the usually anti-social Martian, stroking raven locks with one hand. "Oh, Rei-chan! Whatever could have happened to you?"

Here it was. Time to spin some lie or another. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. _Damn it_. She wasn't this creative! She -

"Rei-chan! Why didn't you tell me you were hurt so badly when Minako-chan landed on you yesterday!" _What._ "Oh, it's all her fault! If she hadn't pushed herself on you like that, you wouldn't be bleeding. Kaa-san, kaa-san, we should call the doctor!"

"No!" Rei reacted to this first, shaking her head violently as she pulled away from the other woman, evidently over the initial shock of being held and _petted_ by someone. She determined that, while the action hadn't been terrible, it would be preferable to avoid a repeat incident. "I mean... no, it won't be necessary. I'm no longer bleeding." Her voice felt thick with sleep, though her mind was racing and alert. A heavy Martian accent laced her speech, and Usagi couldn't help but wonder when, exactly, the various people of planets had found the time to create new languages amongst all of their resettling and whatnot.

Ikuko raised an eyebrow as she looked to her foster daughter, obviously not buying that this had happened during the afternoon without any of them noticing up until the time when Rei had retreated to her room for the night. However, she seemed alright with letting it go, something for which the only active guardian senshi was incredibly grateful.

Life was hard enough without being interrogated by people all around her. "Alright. Rei-chan, perhaps you'd like a bath drawn? I'll have Yuuchirou bring you your food in your room, if you'd like." Oh no. Anyone but him. "You should rest for today. We'll see how you're feeling tomorrow. As for you, daughter of mine... get to school! And see if you can get Rei-chan's homework for her, hm?"

Ah, lovely. So she got to miss 'hanging out' with the girls at lunch as Usagi had bragged they would.

She would call her injury a good luck charm, if this were the case. One night with the lot of them had been more than enough. When it came to school, she'd found that even the Mercurian had her babbling moments, leaving her the only silent one in a sea of women. It was like being an egg in a room full of chicks. They peeped relentlessly whilst you just sat there, life passing you by.

Minako was the worst. She unnerved her, with the way she insisted on sitting so close, and on constantly being in _actual physical contact_ with her. Usagi had chided her for it at the time, and scolded Rei all the same when the Martian had pulled back the first few times. Apparently, such things were just the custom on Venus, where the other blonde had been born and raised.

Rei had determined she was never going to go to Venus.

***

She spent most of the day meditating, needing to break focus whenever she felt someone approaching her room. Heaven forbid they find her sitting up instead of spending the entire day in bed, like a lazy slob. The Martian scowled, hating that she needed to miss school for such a pathetic battle wound. It was already nothing more than a giant scab across her side.

Still, she owed Ikuko-sama for her silence.

The price to pay was acting like she had some fatal illness which had left her bed-ridden and miserable, though she tried to play the part of the girl acting valiantly until the time she would be better to get up and roam again.

How had she slept through her alarm? She usually was awake when a _pin_ dropped, or Usagi snored in the next room (mind you, that was somewhat louder than the pin). She focused her mind, trying to find some explanation behind the near-comatose state she had apparently slipped into and called 'sleep'. Artemis hadn't been able to offer any advice thus far – he wasn't allowed to speak with her during the day. Not when the other humans were around. Normal people weren't supposed to know about him. Or her, for that matter. That was why they covered his crescent moon with a heavy deal of chalk and he acted somewhat wild around everyone else in the family when they tried to pet him. Why she needed to transform and wear a mask.

The mask.

Rei nearly fell out of bed, searching the sheets for it desperately. Her cover would be blown for _sure_ if that thing turned up somewhere else and had a way of being traced back to her. She couldn't... ugh, there it was. Damnable thing. She didn't even like the idea of wearing a mask. Especially not this one.

It felt heavy in her hands in spite of the featherweight material. It felt _familiar_, as though not just from this lifetime. But somehow, she was always under the impression that it just... _wasn't hers_.

Footsteps. She hastily stuffed the mask in her pillowcase before clambering back onto the bed and wrenching the covers up over herself, hiding from whomsoever would be coming. The footsteps hadn't been familiar. They weren't Ikuko's – hers were confident, those of a knowing mother padding about her territory. Usagi's usually had a bit of beat to them. Before she tripped over herself, at any rate. Like she was hopping or skipping everywhere.

These ones were hesitant. Distant. And right outside of her door. Violet eyes stared hard at the door, catching sight of a lock of blonde hair as a familiar face from the day before entered, knocking only after the door was open. "Hey... mind if I come in?"

Rei didn't respond. What was she doing here? This was... well, her room. Mind you, it still looked very much like a guest room, everything done up in white. Sparce décor, the few things there obviously not her doing. Pictures of the family when Usagi had been little, before they'd received a foster child to fill whatever role she did.

Minako seemed to be taking this all into heavy consideration, cerulean eyes looking from the polished hardwood floor to the white ceiling. "Nobody would ever know you've lived in this room for eleven years..."

She shrugged in response, knowing that it wouldn't have mattered if she'd chosen that moment to speak anyway. The Venusian looked like she was off in space. She could have been as far as her home planet in that moment, from the vacant expression that crossed her features.

And what features they were. Delicate, but there was strength there. It was in her eyes, unlike the Jovian's, whose strength was mostly reflected in her body. There was also something else there, but she would have had to have been a mind-reader to pick up on it. She described it in her mind as 'loneliness and a sense of longing', but didn't trouble herself thinking what for.

Those eyes were too deep to analyze in such a way.

It was when she turned to look at her with surprising clarity that she was able to accurately describe an emotion that filled those bright pools. _Want_. She shuddered, immediately feeling her body stiffen in defense. She'd been the subject of this _want_ before. She usually didn't _want_ them back.

_Want_ was the enemy. She never wanted people. She didn't _need_ them, so why _want_? It seemed trivial. And yet, there was this blonde before her. Staring. Trying to figure her out with just her stares. _Wanting_. Rei felt herself become the feral creature she was before for a moment, scowling openly and snapping the young woman out of any trance she'd been in.

"Hey, hey! Okay, sheesh! Sorry for yesterday, can you give it up now? Honestly, you have worse mood swings than Usagi-chan without her chocolate."

"I heard that! I live in the next room, you know!"

"You were supposed to!" the more present of the two snapped back, shaking a fist at nothing in particular before dropping to her knees before Rei's bed. "Show it to me?" she asked after a moment, mood changing entirely. And she had thought _Rei_ had bad mood swings. "Please? I never meant to hurt you so badly to cause you to miss school. And ruin a perfectly good shirt."

Groan. That's right. She'd forgotten that this one was her scapegoat. The reason she wasn't being so heavily interrogated by Usagi-chan at this very moment. That didn't mean she owed her a damn thing, especially not a good view of any part of her without clothing on. "Please?"

She found her head doing the opposite of what she had wanted it to, nodding slowly instead of shaking as vehemently as she wanted it to. Stupid body was just on the fritz today, wasn't it? Couldn't even get woken up by a damn alarm, ignored her internal clock entirely... submitted to the will of a mere girl before her.

The covers, though they hadn't been over her long, left her feeling cold and exposed as they were peeled back, soft fingertips tracing over the skin of her hip just a bit as she peeled the shirt Ikuko had managed to get Rei into up a touch. It all seemed to take forever, Minako peering at the bandaged side with a frown, fingers tracing the skin around the wound carefully. "How..."

So she wasn't as stupid as she appeared. Rei quickly pulled her shirt down, forcing the blonde's hands away from her in the process as she sent her a warning glare. The other girl seemed to take this for what it was worth, sighing and chewing on the inside of her cheek for a moment before picking up her bag and plunking it beside the injured Martian. "I got you your homework." Her voice sounded almost mechanical now, somewhat... was that spite she heard? "I'm in six out of seven of your classes. Ami-chan is in your homeroom."

The cold quality didn't leave her voice as she hurriedly left the bedside to exit the room, muttering her goodbye as she left, Artemis passing her curiously on the way back into his charge's bed chambers.

It was as she watched the Venusian's retreating form, all swaying hips and hair, that Rei experienced it for the first time. _Want_.

x0x

**MinaRayeFan** ; Thanks very much! I hope you'll like the rest of the fic as much.

**youte** ; Thank you! Such high praise! ^-^ Here's some more for you. =D

**WITS** ; My dear, darling WITS. 3 I've said most of what I can to you in a massive PM I sent away a few days ago, but I feel like restating my thanks here. =D

**pri815** ; Thank you so much! ^^ I'm hoping you'll like my Mina too, once I get around to dedicating a chapter to her. Shouldn't be too long now!

**Axilestyn** ; Thanks again to you! ^^ Hehe, a bit of mystery's always _fun_ though, isn't it? And I'm glad you caught onto the bits of humour. I do try to make the conversation a bit more interesting with fun inner dialogue. xD

**Graceful Amethyst** ; Thank you for one, being an awesome reader and reviewer, and two, being my beta who catches all my nasty mistakes. xD; People should be giving you credit for this chapter as well, fixin' my errors and whatnot!

Alrighty, I'm going to leave this here, and toss in a simple request that anyone who follows R number one and 'Reads' bothers to go after R number two and 'Review'. ^^ It really makes me want to post more, so if you like it/have any questions, comments, concerns, quips, or queries, you should hit the review button for me. =D


	4. Chapter 3

Okie, sorry once again for the delay. D: I tried to get this off to my beta, but she seems to have disappeared (probably just le busy!). ^^; So, we're back to some unchecked chapters. xD; Anyway, it's longer in hopes of making up for the delay, and the next chapter is over halfway done as well, so expect an update pretty soon following this one!

Disclaimer: Characters and original plot do not belong to me. D: If so, Minako and Rei would have wound up together in the manga, kthx. XD

Chapter Three: September

"_Once again, beware of the masked soldier Sailor Mars. She is a cold-hearted killer who attacks innocents with no provocation, using forbidden magic to murder those who endeavour to keep you safe."_

Aino Minako ignored the viewscreen as it popped down, hitting a button by her head to shut it off, the area immediately clearing to reveal her bedroom. Teddy bears littered various areas of her floor and shelves, as did copious amounts of clothing. Dirty or clean, nobody could really know. Everything was bright, and fluffy, and...

And she was nearly certain that the Martian she had in mind would have hated it if she could have seen. Just one look into her room the other day had told her more about Rei than she ever would have found out from the silent girl. The order – perfect and everything in its place. It was suspicious, sure, but at the same time, she couldn't see the raven-haired foster child living in any other situation. It was like everything she did was meant to baffle her, though.

Minako couldn't wrap her head around the concept of not talking for _days_ on end as it was. Combine that with everything else that was _Rei_ and it just left her with a headache and sense of frustration.

She threw a pillow at the opposing wall to relieve some of the stress, teeth gritting as she thought back to the other day, the cut that had been keeping Rei from school. The blonde immediately felt a bit more worried. And a bit more confused, which of course came hand in hand with more frustration. Why was it that she had to be the first thing she thought of when she woke up in the morning and the last thing before she slept each night?

It was downright... downright despicable! People weren't supposed to be able to just crawl into your head like that. Distracting her from her Saturday... how dare she.

With the first week of school under their belts, the group was settling into something of a usual dynamic. Makoto did decently, if only because of how hard she tried. She was easily distracted by (Minako was both ashamed and proud to admit) herself and Usagi by times, though, and her marks would reflect that. Ami never faltered, even attended a secondary school. And Rei... well, Rei's marks were something she'd only heard of in passing. According to Usagi, she'd never received anything below a ninety.

It all seemed to be hard work, though. She'd seen her squinting at books and making a face as she hurriedly scribbled things down in reading period, when she was the most tempted to go sit by her. As it was, Minako had started sitting in the back of the class with her. Usually to cast her odd little glances here and there, then pretend she _hadn't_ been caught staring when violet eyes would come up to meet hers and Rei would raise just _one_ eyebrow in her direction.

She was nearly certain that she made the Martian nervous, a fact which upset her greatly. Mostly because making Rei nervous was the _last_ thing she wanted to do. She wanted to get to know her in ways even Usagi hadn't been able to. Have her talk about Mars like it was just another vacation spot. Talk about her parents, if they even still existed. Or maybe talk about what had become of them if they were gone.

It was then that Minako realized she was crushing hard on someone who had _literally_ never said more than two words to her at any given time. In fact, Rei had never said more than two words to her _period_. They'd been 'thank you', and she'd blushed profusely afterwards.

She had an accent, apparently. Heavy, thick... Martian. She'd never heard the language, but it wasn't too hard to figure it out. They knew every planet had its own tongue based on the languages that used to be found across the Earth, though she was not entirely adept when it came to what had been known as Venusian. They'd left the planet when she was twelve, herself, her parents, and three younger brothers. It was a lilting sort of language, she remembered. Her family still spoke it on occasion, when others weren't in their home. But as for _writing_ it... well, she wasn't entirely sure she could anymore.

Rubbing the back of her head as a rather loud knock came at the door, she stuck a middle finger out quickly, holding it there as the eldest of her three brothers came running into the room and jumped on top of her. "Minaaaaaa-chaaaaaaan!" He smacked her rear through the duvet, watching as she squirmed beneath him.

It was certainly difficult being the eldest and only daughter of four children. It meant she was expected to babysit these monsters. After all, 'she was seventeen and they were only fourteen and younger, so she was expected to be a responsible adult and set a good example for them'. Minako scoffed still at that little spiel, flipping her brother over with a deft roll of her body. "Lay off, Tsubasa!" The boy looked up at her from the floor, grinning like a Cheshire cat. He looked like... well, anyone else in her family. Blonde hair, blue eyes.

It was little wonder she was fascinated by the Martian, honestly. Venus was filled with more and more of the same eyes and the same hair. Earth was inhabited by everything under the sun – but the rarest were people from Mars.

Rebellious little planet... she'd never understand why they had even bothered to keep people threatening the Regime alive, but she was certainly glad they had. Otherwise she might not have met the most beautiful person she had ever met.

Oh man, so much for it being a _little_ crush.

She'd always thought Rei was hot. And it had always been a well-known fact that Minako preferred the company of both genders. But actually being able to spend time with the woman who had grown over the years, from the shy twelve year old to a resolute and silent sort of beauty... urgh, it was doing nothing for suppressing her hormones.

"Earth to Minakooo! Earth to Mina-neesan!"She blinked, remembering then that she had been in the process of _killing_ that little worm Tsubasa.

She got out of bed, standing about seven centimetres taller than she had last spring. The summer had brought with it what she was sure would be her final growth spurt, leaving her taller than Ami and Usagi (and, incidentally, Rei) this year. It was interesting, not being the shortest of the group anymore. In fact, other than Makoto, she would be the tallest...

Hah! They would bow before her extended form!

She chased Tsubasa out into the hallway, only to have a viewscreen fall into her vision from nowhere. Feet digging into the hard tile of her hallway, she skidded to a halt, finding herself quickly on her behind. Sighing, she heard the familiar tone. Ringing. Argh, who was calling her at two on a Saturday? Didn't they know she'd still be _asleep_? Hello, _hangovers_!

She reluctantly hit accept anyway, seeing Usagi's tired face there. Reddened nose running like a faucet, she did Minako the great service of sniffling in the loudest way possible before she started to speak. "Ah... gomen-ne, Minako-chan, but I'm sick. I don't think I'll be able to make it today..."

"What? Usagi-chan, you have to! Tsubasa-baka has already started torturing me, I _cannot_ watch them on my own again! Remember last time? Remember what happened then?"

"Ah... well... if it's any help, I kind of _liked_ your hair when it was green..."

"Usagi!"

"Gomen, gomen... ah, Rei-chan?" She watched as another face appeared on the viewscreen, violet eyes staring her down then, full of something Minako couldn't make out.

"I'll watch them for you today," she offered, shrugging off Usagi as the girl grabbed her arm, shaking her head profusely as if to say 'don't do it, they're evil'. Which was what she was screaming the moment the Martian managed to shake her off. "To make up for you bringing me my homework earlier this week."

It was the most she'd said in a long time, let alone to the two blondes hearing this, and somehow, the Aino recognized this, beaming endearingly as she bounced up off the floor in her pyjamas. "Okay! Thank you, thank you soooo much Rei-san!" It was when she reverted to her silence again, nodding only once before she turned to leave, that Minako saw _it_.

Poking out of the back of her jeans, something hidden and oddly recognizable. Red... mask. A red mask, resembling old cat-eye glasses from centuries gone by, before they were able to so easily correct vision impairment. It sparkled and caught her attention almost immediately, in a way that forced her to stare at it and ignore Usagi's continued babbling. Like she couldn't look away, no matter what she did.

Her head throbbed, dim recognition overwhelming every other sense in her body as she stared at the retreating figure on the viewscreen, determined to see the mask later as well. There was something too familiar about it.

"Minako-baka! Are you listening to me?"

"Huh? I'm sorry, Usagi-chan, I'm just... still a little bit tired. I had a late night."

"No doubt! You went to Matsume-san's party last night, didn't you? And probably drank and drank and drank... and then drank some more... ooh, were there any cute boys there? Did you – wait, wait, you're trying to distract me! Aha, I'm on the ball today! Anyway, as I was saying – be careful with Rei-chan! I know those brothers of yours are _monsters_ and she's probably still hurt from earlier this week. She's been really tired, I'm getting a little worried. See if you can maybe get her to relax a bit? Easier said than done, I know, I know, but just give her a blanket and a movie, trust me."

Minako blinked, aware that if this weren't reality and were some sort of anime, she probably would've had a fair-sized sweatdrop running down the back of her head right about now. "Eh... okay, Usagi-chan. But I should probably go and get dressed, since she's already on her way - "

"Whaaaaaaaaat! Minako-chan! Why didn't you tell me you saw her leave! I wanted to pack her a lunch! I was making her cookies!"

"Is that what that particularly foul-looking black cloud coming from your kitchen is?"

"Aaaah, my cookies!" The viewscreen cut out just as Usagi turned to run for it, crying loudly in hopes that maybe her voice alone would convince them to _not_ catch fire.

Minako sighed, rolling blue eyes and shaking her head in something akin to dismay as she thought of just how ruined that kitchen must have been by that point in time. Usagi was constantly trying to cook something in it... it was not hard to imagine the shape it would've been in at that point in time.

Smiling, she retreated back to her bedroom, avoiding bumping into her brothers and locking the door after herself.

Today, she was chillin' like a villain with a Martian!

***

Rei's arrival was marked with six pairs of very wide, bright blue eyes staring at her, only one of said pairs familiar in the slightest. The entire Aino family appeared to have gathered to catch sight of what Minako had bragged to be 'the elusive and ever so rare Martian' friend of hers.

Shifting uncomfortably under the scrutinizing gaze of so many people, she decided to concentrate on the only one of the six whom she knew. The one who was grinning like an idiot in the back and pushing through the throng of people she called 'family' to grab her _friend_'s hand and lead her inside. "Don't mind them, they always stare when they see people from other planets. You should have seen Tsubasa-kun's face when he met Ami-chan the first time around."

"Hey! Blue hair is unnatural, and I stand by that statement!"

"Uh, maybe for us, but not for people from _Mercury_. Baka." Rolling her eyes, she pulled Rei a bit closer to her, bending down a touch to whisper in her ear. "I swear, he's not as bad as Usagi-chan makes him sound. But don't tell him I told you that, or he'll get a head the _size_ of a planet."

A semi-polite clearing of a throat was heard from behind the pair, the eldest Aino standing behind his wife and looking at the pair with a suggestively raised eyebrow. Minako merely smiled coyly and shrugged when he stared at Rei, jaw dropping a little bit.

The best part of having brothers like him – you only had to _suggest_ and they would jump to their own conclusions.

"Minako-chan, Mama and I are heading out to work now. Promise us you'll keep the damage to a minimum?" the tallest of all people present asked, his smile wide but eyes a combination of afraid and hopeful.

Giggling, the eldest Aino sibling stood on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek, patting it sympathetically afterwards. "Don't worry Papa! Rei-san over there is a master when it comes to controlling the kiddies. Isn't that right, Rei-san?"

Rei looked up, blinking once before shrugging. Minako eyed her like a hawk, not bothering to hide anything about her gaze as she raked it up the raven-haired girl's form appreciatively. "Ah, she's just being modest, Papa. You have nothing to fear! Now, get going you workaholics! Or you'll be late, and then I'm going to get the call from your boss right after you leave and have to deal with her spitting all over the viewscreen."

Chuckling, the relatively attractive man gave a nod, grabbing his wife around her waist and waving to his children. "See you later children! It was nice to meet you, Rei-san!"

"Hai, you as well, Aino-sama," she offered, bowing in response and Minako couldn't help but giggle at the level of formality involved in that simple action. And again, she found herself staring at her, more and more like a wolf approaching its prey as her parents _finally_ left.

"Ewwww, Neesan!" someone cried, and she turned to see the youngest of her three brothers staring at her with a pout and wide, blue eyes. "Is she your koibito? Mama and Papa said they'd tell us when you had one! Unless... did you not tell them?" You know, for a ten year old, Kenta could be awfully perceptive.

It was then that Daisuke started into Rei, and everything started to go to pot. Daisuke was twelve, leaving all the boys two years apart from one another, though he was arguably his sister's favourite. She didn't bother to pretend she loved them equally anymore – Kenta and Tsubasa had each other, after all. Daisuke was the one who avoided getting her into trouble on her babysitting missions, who actually bothered to be _nice_ to her friends, and acted the part of the overprotective one when she brought home boys or girls that she'd been seeing.

"Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you! _Rei-san, _was it? Tell me your intentions with my neesan!" Violet eyes widened in mild shock, before looking to Minako with a bit of a slack jaw. The surprise was evident on her features, causing the eldest Aino to giggle and shrug.

It only made sense that Rei wasn't used to protective siblings, she supposed. She'd lived with Usagi and her mother most of her life, and the pair of them had been alone for the six years before Rei had arrived at their doorstep, social worker pretty much _dragging_ her inside, from what she'd been told.

Minako frowned, pondering her family on Mars. What was it like there? Did she have any siblings? Better yet, were they _alive_? They'd learned terrible things about that planet in her modern society class, as well as history. And of course, there were always the stories about monsters that lived there, attacking the few people who made camps there.

But if that was true, why would Rei bother going back each summer? Unless she _did_ have family and simply wanted to visit... but why couldn't they come to Earth? Better yet, why had she ever left Mars if she had family there? Urgh,

Hey, hey, hey. What were these thoughts? She shook her head, smiling a bit to herself. Of course family was the first thing that came to her mind – her own was messed up enough, in its own ways. It was usually herself, Tsubasa, Daisuke and Kenta all alone in the large house. Her parents were away for business a good deal of the time. She supposed that was what happened when you were famous for what you did.

Sighing, she went to pull Daisuke off the stoic Martian. Apparently, Rei had simply shut down to shut him out, a tactic she kept in mind for Tsubasa later on. "Daisuke-kun! Leave poor Rei-san alone, hm? She's just here to keep me company. A _friend_, you know? Get yourself a couple, silly." An affectionate rub to his blonde head, and she was sure he got the picture. "Alright, troops! _Movie time_! Pick one, and Rei and I will be _right_ there!"

The three boys jumped together, nodding and rushing off to argue over who owned which film and scramble amid the small chips upon which they were contained. Ah, it would be a glorious fight – too bad she was going to miss it for this.

"Rei-san, are you sure you're alright for this? My brothers get a bit... touchy-feely sometimes, and if you're still injured - " Her fingers twitched slightly, hands reaching towards the raven-haired girl's shirt curiously. She lifted the hem of it and was met with little resistance, gasping as she stared at perfect, pale flesh.

"But... is this the wrong side? I could've sworn..." Her hands deftly lifted the other girl's shirt more, causing poor Rei to blush unceremoniously and try to wriggle back into her shirt a bit more. "You... you're completely... there's nothing there. A few days ago you were seriously injured, and now you don't even have a scar." Minako felt the need to say it, if only to make it more real for herself.

It didn't seem possible, and yet, there was the proof. She'd seen the completely healed skin with her own baby blues, and damn if Rei wasn't squirming now. She sighed, scratching the back of her head and shooting her a semi-knowing glance before retreating towards the sounds of her brothers fighting. They wouldn't stay awake forever, after all – she'd have time to interrogate her... (acquaintance? Friend?) later.

"Neesan, we picked a movie! Come see, come see!"

***

Nine hours and twenty-seven minutes later, Minako found herself cursing those brothers of hers. By 'a movie', they had of _course_ meant _five_. What. The. Hell.

She wasn't complaining, however – she'd gotten to spend all those hours sitting on the couch with Rei, brushing against her 'accidentally' when she so deemed it appropriate, casually touching or stealing glances. It was nice, she'd determined, staring at the viewscreen as Tsubasa, the only brother who _wasn't_ passed out on the floor, started up another ninja flick. "Just... one... more..." Even he seemed tired of the marathon of fighting movies, blue eyes red-rimmed from hours of staring at a hologram screen.

Minako chuckled, absent-mindedly reaching to rub the head of the person next to her, only to find it was a bit higher up than she had expected. Suddenly remembering that it was _Rei_ there and not Kenta, she retracted her hand, smiling as her cheeks flushed a subtle pink in contrast to the violent red of the shorter girl's.

Her hair was soft. It felt like silk in her fingers, for the moment that she'd been able to pull at it. She wondered what it would be like, to possess that mane of hair. Or to be able to swipe the bangs away from amethyst eyes whenever she wanted, just to see them better.

Rei was looking at her strangely, but the blonde didn't care. She challenged the gaze with a raised eyebrow of her own, smirking in hollow success when the other girl broke eye contact first. "You know, I think I'm onto your game," she stated, quietly enough so as not to wake any of the sleeping boys on the floor before them. "You don't talk much, but your actions speak _volumes_."

The Martian seemed honestly surprised in that moment, staring at her like she'd grown another head. Minako certainly felt like she had – a head full of knowledge and the ability to acquire _more_ knowledge about the raven-haired goddess before her. "You know, words aren't all that bad, though. There are some things you can't convey with a look alone." A challenging glance was sent her way. "Alright, smart one. How old are you?"

Rei proceeded to blink seventeen times in quick succession, just slow enough for the blonde to be able to count. She chuckled, knowing she shouldn't have been surprised at all that the girl had found a way around that one. "Alright, alright. That was an easy one. How about... what's your middle name?" A shake of the head. "You don't have one?" Nod. "Well that was simple enough. Hmm... what's your favourite food?"

At the risk of having it turn into charades, she waited. She waited so long that the Venusian could have sworn that it actually started to _hurt_. And then she heard it. The most beautiful thing on the planet.

"Vegetarian pizza." It wasn't so much that vegetarian pizza was beautiful... it was her voice. Her voice, and the fact that Minako now knew that she could make Rei speak. Any time, any place.

She couldn't wait to hear more from her.

((A/N: Was going to leave it off here, and then decided to stay up an extra few hours and write a bit more for everyone because this chapter took so freaking long. So here you go. xD It's pretty much two chapters in one. OH WELL.))

***

September passed in an unremarkable haze for most of the students who attended Tazaki. They woke up each morning, put on their uniforms, went to school, hung out with friends, maybe even started to date. The gossip died down slightly as the wonders of the summer faded into nothingness or simple memories, ones that would last a lifetime.

September was generally that sort of month. The one you forgot come October, as midterms started to hurtle your way and school seemed to press down on the students with a vigour. When sports ruled your life, and suddenly you were living a routine again. Doing the day-to-day tasks in a mindless sort of fashion, with nothing but December in your sights.

For Aino Minako, September was the summer. It had become a series of memories, ones she'd forget in two years, or cherish in thirty more. September had been a month of Rei. Gorgeous, unforgettable Rei. When she was ninety-five, she would still remember Rei. How could she ever forget her?

September was officially her favourite month of the year.

The promise of heavy books to break her back had been replaced with pizza nights at her home with Rei. The thought of days she'd have to wake up too early kicked to the side as she thought of the rest of the day, six out of seven classes just filled with Rei.

_Rei, Rei, Rei, Rei, Rei._ Even her name sounded heavenly. She found herself writing 'Aino Rei' just to see what it looked like, though _marriage_ was probably taking it a bit too far. For a simple crush, she had to admit – it was going pretty far. And if there had been even the slightest sign that maybe the Martian was gay (or even bisexual, or just straight with exceptions – preferably blonde exceptions such as herself), she would've already gone for it.

Instead, it came down to this. Sitting in the back of the class with her each and every day, and watching her write with a vigour. She took her notes like she took life – seriously. It was something the blonde wished she could do. Her own paper tended to remain... eheh... blank. She had better things to do, though! Such as stare at perfectly puckered pink lips and wonder what they would feel like against her own. So full, she wagered it'd be like kissing satin...

"Aino-san? The answer?"

Ah! Noooo! "Eheh... demo, I think I spaced out for a second there, sensei." She should have been embarrassed as the professor went on to chastise her for not paying attention in class, switching to some other student afterwards upon realizing that he'd lost her again. She should've been embarrassed, and yet, she wasn't at all. Because Rei was looking at her, a playful look in her eyes.

She'd learn to read the 'stoic' and 'cold' _goddess_ in just a month. Something even Usagi seemed to have trouble with, she'd noted with a bit of pride. Eleven years living with her compared to a little over a month of... friendship, yes, she'd call it that... and she had mastered things Usagi couldn't even dream of.

Or, and this was a thought she only dared to let herself entertain – maybe it wasn't that she was particularly perceptive at all. _Maybe_ it was that Rei _wanted_ her to understand her. Maybe she felt... something for her. After all, Aino Minako had been her usual, charming self at all times around her.

"Hehe..." Sinking into her chair, the blonde allowed her eyes to close for a moment of bliss, a smile playing her lips even as the bell rang, signifying the end of class. The end of class, and her paper was still entirely blank.

Oops.

And yet, following Rei to lunch, she didn't feel bad about it at all. Such was the effect of the raven-haired girl. You could be failing every subject in school because you'd been staring too long, and it just didn't matter at all. So Minako thought, anyway.

Nobody else really seemed to share her fascination. Sure, some people still occasionally glanced at the Hino, but nowadays, they had better things to gossip about than how she didn't talk. Like how Aino Minako spent all her time with her now. How they were seen in _places outside of school_ together. Gasp, shock! Bah, let them have their rumours. So long as she had her Rei, that was all that mattered.

"Rei-chan! Minako-chan!" It was strange, but their ragtag group had become... did she even dare to think it... _popular_. There was only one change that'd been made to it, and yet, it seemed to give them all the power. Was it because people were afraid of Rei? Enchanted by her now that they thought that she was perhaps a human being? Capable of being spoken to and, as a few had witnessed on occasion, speaking as well?

It made her feel jealous, Minako realized with no small amount of shock. She liked it best when Rei was only speaking to her. When other people couldn't see her talking. It was like... something special. Something that was _theirs_. And sure, she realized that it was just an everyday function. Like, a part of life you just couldn't get along without, really. You had to communicate somehow.

But the vocal part of Rei was _hers_. Not to be possessive or anything. Bah, she'd just have to live knowing that people got to hear her voice sometimes. Yeah. That was all.

Rei sent a look her way that she had come to recognize as one of contentment, and she found herself beaming back. Joy. A month of the Martian, only a month, and she was already in it so deep that one look could stop her in her tracks.

***

"Minako-chan?" The blonde glanced upwards, cobalt eyes meeting with a pair of similar ones. There was a difference in their colouring, however – she assumed it was the difference in Venusian and Terrestrial, and always had. Her 'twin' gave a short smile, waving as if saying her name hadn't been enough. "What are you thinking about?"

A small smile crossed her features, knowing it was the same thing she was _always_ thinking about nowadays as she redirected her gaze from Usagi's smiling face. "Oh, you know... things you couldn't understand. Like this math homework."

"Mou... Minako-chaaaan, you never used to be so mean!" the other blonde exclaimed, pouting as she went back to staring at the math before the pair of them. "Besides, I don't see you getting anywhere with it eith - "

"Tsukino-san. Aino-san. May I remind you that this is _detention_, not your usual after-school activities? You may pick up friendly conversation in an hour, when you're done being punished. That is what detention is for, after all – punishment. In case you've forgotten." Oh, she totally hadn't. This vile waste of time was stealing her from her precious one, after all.

Wow. That sounded a little more creepy than she had intended. _Sigh_. Was she really getting to be that bad about it?

Ami probably would have said that if she needed to ask herself that question, the answer was yes. It had probably been yes since she realized Rei was someone she was capable of getting to know. Just like any other being on the face of the planet.

She found herself idly sketching on the lined paper, and (much to her horror at the end of detention) her math text. The words 'Aino Rei' littered the page of integrals, those archaic and useless old things. They only learned them for the sake of nostalgia, she was sure of this. Nostalgia for the teachers – remembering each year how they got to exact every kind of educational torture possible on their prey when the time came.

Derivatives weren't bad enough. Though she did remember telling Ami once not to 'drink and derive' before slapping her on the back and laughing hysterically. It had been an excellent pun at the time – and even the stoic Martian had expressed the slightest amount of interest in the joke.

Leaving detention with Usagi by her side, she vowed never to get caught passing notes again. It seriously detracted from her Rei-Interaction Time (hereby referred to as RIT) and forced her to suffer through Wistful-Rei-Thoughts Time (... WRTT?).

She existed within WRTT for the rest of the day, and, sadly, week. She'd become incredibly scarce out of the blue, distancing herself from the group slightly as she took to eating lunch alone again. Usagi mentioned something about her seeming a bit more tired as of late, though never seemed to push the issue. Ami and Makoto merely shrugged.

Minako, however... Minako was stealthy. She was stealthy and she had a right to know. As Rei's number one fan (screw Yuuchirou, that stalking bastard didn't know a thing about her), she had to know.

This was probably what started the most awkward series of confrontations ever.

"Rei-chan! Haven't seen you around lately! Where've you been?"

Shrug.

"Rei-chan! Are you limping? Do you need me to take you to the nurse's office?"

Head shake.

"Rei-chan! You're a distant bitch sometimes, you know that?"

Eyebrow raise.

Okay, so that last one never really happened outside of WRTT (which was quickly becoming 'Fantasize-About-Rei Time – FART, though it was not allowed to be abbreviated as such), but it really should have. She wondered if it would've gotten her anywhere at all, though.

She was about ready to hand Rei a big ol' slice of Aino Minako advice – the kind that involved 'thou shalt not be a bitch to thine friends' – when it had happened. She just hadn't come to school. Usagi said she was sick. Exhausted to the point where she couldn't get out of bed. The doctor who'd been summoned had admitted that it was best for her to take to her bed, and the adorable white cat Minako had become so fond of, Artemis, had stayed by her side every moment.

And the next day, Minako hadn't been at school either. She'd been in Rei's room, kneeling beside her bed and laughing as they slipped back into what the norm was. And she got to hear her voice – tired, as were those beautiful amethyst eyes of hers, but ever the rarity. The blonde found herself falling so hard that she didn't even _care_ when Yuuchirou entered the room to check on them. She did, however, nearly pass out from the sheer joy of seeing the other girl eventually wave him away, annoyed and tired of him in moments.

"Rei-chan," she asked after a moment, seeing sharp acknowledgement in the other's gaze as she held it. "I... I like to think that I know you, at least a little. That we're friends. But sometimes, you just seem to go into this little world of your own, and I feel like I can't follow. And then I just realize how different we are, and it... well, it hurts. Are we really friends? Am I a bother to you? Because I could leave - " A hand grabbed hers, squeezing weakly as cobalt eyes snapped to the form of the exhausted foster child.

"Mina-chan." She'd never said her name like _that_ before – Rei was usually so formal. "You're my _best_ friend. Nothing changes that." Her heart soared, and for a while, she just stayed there, talking to the Martian and seeing her nod or blink. They fell into a comfortable silence when she ran out of things to talk about, waging their own conversation with meaningful glances and the occasional change in facial expression.

September may have been Minako's new favourite month, but October wasn't looking too bad either.

x0x

Alright. =/ Not... sure... how I feel about this chapter. T_T; Wah... next one feels better, though, so we'll see. Drop a review and I'll love you forever. 8D Or, at the very least, get back to you at the end of next chapter. xD;

**Claire** ; Oooh, why thank you. ^^ I'm trying not to make it entirely one-sided though, as I'm kinda hoping this chapter'll prove. XD

**Rikku's twin** ; Haha, thanks! ^^ An update for j00 is here. 8D

**MinaRayeFan** ; Thanks! ^^ I hope this chapter didn't disappoint _too_ much. D:

**MavDaddy** ; Thanks so much! ^^

**WITS** ; That's right, you are my review-type snuggle bunny. xD Whom I will get around to PM'ing right after putting up this chapter. 8D No, no, not trying to politely fire you, gah! D: Want to keep you around! *tugs* And yeah, after rereading the last chapter, I definitely see what you mean. =/ There should be a break or something edited in. That part was just... mmmmrrrrrrr... *shakes head* And I do hope the next few chapters will lead to better characterization. I feel like I'm only skimming the surfaces of all of them. =/ Welp. We shall see, ne? It will be so much easier once – I mean, I'm not giving out plot spoilers, noooo...

**SM** ; Thank you! ^^ Tee hee... sorry, but I am not at liberty to discuss those questions just yet. ;D Guess you'll just have to wait and see, hm? Suspense!

**Spikesagitta** ; Yep, Crystal Tokyo is destroyed. So, yes, this is the future. And it was indeed the one that was supposed to last forever. Key word – supposed, I do suppose. xD As for whether or not the senshi are even needed... well, Mars is awake. As for the others... guess you'll have to wait and see.

**Anonymous** ; Aw, thank you! =D I hope you'll continue to like it as much as it rolls on. ^^ The only thing I'm going to directly put to rest is the suspicion that Artemis might leave Rei for Minako when/if such a time ever comes. I'm going to assure you and all the other readers that Artemis is _Rei's_ this time around. And as to whether she'll remain the only one or not... well, you'll see soon enough, I suppose!

**ChrisGranger** ; Thanks! And as for her joining soon... I'm going to play dumb and say I don't know what on Earth you're talking about. ;D

**LunarMiko07** ; Thank you! ^^ Here's another chapter, I suppose. Let me know how you like it?


	5. Chapter 4

So, this just got back from my beta (thank you GracefulAmethyst! ^^), and she was so prompt! I sent it to her a bit earlier today, and got it back just a couple hours later. ^^ Everybody owes her a big round of applause for going through this because I sure as heck didn't want to have to proofread. D:

Sorry for the wait! Hope you'll accept this slightly longer treat as an apology. x3 And I'm going to apologize in advance for the sloppiness in the middle – that was when I was all in the absolute throes of writer's block. ^^; Just pretend it isn't there... eheh...

Disclaimer: Naoko Takeuchi owns it, not me.

Chapter Four: Discovery

"Mars - "

A flash. A grim look of recognition as she turned. It was kill or be killed, and frankly, she didn't feel like it was quite her time. Rounding on the six guards to her left, she listened with a short groan as more feet followed from the only other escape routes, one directly in front of her, and the other behind.

Turning her back to the wall of the building that kept her from having a fourth option, she faced all three guard forces, the center becoming what _had_ been her left. The cat by her feet let out a soft mewl, looking up to her then. The people around her paid it no heed – they didn't care about sparing a feline if it meant finally silencing the deadly Sailor Mars.

"Tomorrow, this will be all over the news," one of the guards stated with a sneer, moving forward a touch.

"Regardless of the outcome," Mars admitted, nodding as she took her stance. Incredibly, it was offensive instead of defensive, a battle cry emitting from her slender form as she rushed forwards in spite of her cat's loud hiss. He disagreed. Too bad.

She fought like she had fought the youma on her home planet, attacking with anything in sight. She used the bodies of the felled men to knock over their approaching comrades, or as shields for the waves of dark energy that came to cloud her vision. Fight or be fought. Kill or be killed. _I will not die today_.

Her fire engulfed them in two's and three's, the flame sniper attack utterly useless in such close-ranged combat. She felt her own fire singe herself when it was casually deflected – some had come prepared for her, it seemed.

"Sailor Mars," the remaining five addressed her now, looking to the bloodied, exhausted soldier as she dropped another body. "We have a proposition for you."

She didn't speak, believing in actions more than the words the Terrestrials relied so heavily upon. With a decent flip, she hit the man next to the speaker in the jaw with the heel of her red stiletto, sweeping the legs out from under another man as she landed in a crouch. Two on the ground, but still alive. Three standing, preparing attacks.

She couldn't parry them all.

It was then that a spray of bubbles interfered, hitting two men in the side of their heads and leaving only one blade of dark energy for Mars to contend with. She flipped backwards, lacking her usual grace as she did her best to avoid the offending weapon, amethyst eyes settling upon not his figure, but another.

Dressed similarly to herself was a visor-wearing figure. Short, blue hair, boots that came up to her knees, and a fuku. _Another senshi?_

Dropping to her knees, she felt her head pound. Remembering her earlier conversation with Artemis, she winced, trying her damnedest not to be caught up in the throes of a useless memory.

"_You can't keep this up, Rei-chan... I worry about you. The last time, they nearly..."_

"_Nearly doesn't mean they succeeded. I'm still here."_

"_I refuse to let you continue to risk your life alone. Perhaps... perhaps it is time we searched for the other senshi."_

_Silence fell between the pair of them as the raven-haired girl shuffled awkwardly, staring at her hands. Her cat sighed loudly, putting a paw on her skirt-clad lap. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. You're my charge, but you're also... Rei-chan, I'd be greatly upset if anything happened to you. You know that, right? I'd rather we paused our mission than see you nearly die again - "_

"_We'll continue the mission. We don't have a choice." Her voice held a very final tone to it, and he sighed yet again, guiltily remembering just who had made her believe in this cause in the first place. "But... we shall look for other senshi on the side."_

It was the closest to a truce they were going to get.

"Mars! Mars!" The white cat pushed at her with his nose as she fell on the battlefield, their bubble-spewing 'friend' approaching with a concerned look on her face. "Mars, you have to get up - " A groan cut him off, the young woman found there moving feebly on the pavement. Various scratches littered her arms and legs, and one dared to mar her beautiful features; an angry red burn across her cheek. Still, there was no significant injury this time – just the exhaustion she hadn't been able to shake since the last night they'd gone out.

She fought against the darkness that threatened to overtake her vision, and against the familiar pull of the warrior leaving her form. She had long ago realized that there were two people (or more) within her being. There was herself, as she was day by day... and then there was Sailor Mars. And once the fighting was over, the Senshi of Passion and War would retreat into her form, leaving her in her street clothes to deal with whatever damage _she_ had caused.

The soft clicks of Sailor Mercury's boots could be heard approaching the pair, as well as the commanding voice of someone else. And, as she forced herself upwards, she found herself staring at... oh great... another talking cat.

"Sailor Mars... I cannot believe we've finally found you!" Artemis balked, staring at the other cat and the blue-clad girl upon whose shoulder she rode. The flame senshi seemed to be having the same problem he was, since they both looked to each other like 'more?' before returning to staring at the pair, both knowing which of them would take the silent role in this. "We've been searching for you for a month straight now, but to no avail. We wanted to contact you before, but all reports of you were from your home planet."

Uh, maybe because she hadn't wanted to be Sailor Mars on Earth just yet? Or maybe because Earth hadn't needed her until recently? This cat was a genius. _Really_.

She bit back the feeling of sarcasm that seemed to encompass her whenever she donned the fuku, somehow knowing that it must have been _her_ thoughts and not her own. Rei was rarely sarcastic. Mars often was. It was one of the many points upon which they clashed. And she did mean _many._

There was no place for sarcasm where she came from. It was live as you could, and that was that. The strong lived to make babies with the other strong ones. And so on and so forth. Didn't hurt to be pretty, but it wasn't a necessity.

Somehow, she was glad that she had managed to avoid having the mental capacity of the typical Martian. Oh, she was aware what they called the people from her 'neck of the woods'. She would have concurred, had people not uttered it suspecting she was more of the same.

Every group had its exceptions.

Standing in her red high heels, she fought Mars as the being attempted to retreat. She needed her then. She couldn't be Hino Rei just yet – and, Mars seemingly relenting, the transformed state suddenly became easier to maintain.

That damned cat was still talking.

She stared hard at it until it shut up, looking away sheepishly. "I see you're as formidable as you were in the past, Mars." Something clicked within her mind, staring at the dark cat then with a tilted head. She knew about the past? Which one? The ones she dreamt about on occasion, or the one she'd _lived_?

"What is your name?"

"I do believe I already told you that," the cat scoffed, seemingly indignant to discover that the Martian hadn't been listening to a word that she'd said beforehand. But it was hard to tell, the raven-haired woman assumed. You couldn't very well make out her eyes behind the red mask. "But, since this is a matter of great importance, I shall say it again... my name is Luna. I am a representative of the Lunar Council - "

"Then you are an enemy," she cut in, staring down the cat, then looking to Mercury. There was no question in violet eyes, watching as the water senshi backed up uncertainly before falling onto her rear with a soft thud. Sigh. As she had thought, this one was new. It also explained why the Eye in the Sky had yet to get the name 'Sailor Mercury' across The Wire.

She felt it then – that fiery half-rage that wasn't hers at all. She pushed it down, feeling her power leave a bit with it. So, this was how her 'other half' wanted to play, was it? Rei got the message loud and clear.

Ignore Mars, and Mars would ignore you as well. From what she could gather between her sparse (though increasingly horrifying) dreams of what Artemis claimed was the past, there were more than a few differences between herself and the woman she _had_ been. Different circumstances and whatnot.

This one... this one always seemed so _angry_ or worse, like she was suffering an undue amount of grief over... over... what? Dying? Mars didn't strike her as the type, from what little she knew of the woman, to mourn her own death. Had life really been so hard in the past?

Call her ignorant, but she couldn't fathom _why_.

"Mars, maybe we shouldn't be so hasty," Artemis chided playfully, though there was a serious undertone stressed when he spoke the name. _Mars_. So he was well aware whom he was dealing with then. That was good – Rei could step back a touch, try not to rein her in like a disobedient horse every time she paid an ounce of attention to the conversation.

Violet eyes hardened behind the mask, staring at him coldly for a moment before regarding Mercury a bit closer. Well, she did seem to be another senshi – which was something that Rei had agreed to do with Artemis. Seek out her fellows, yes? Here was one.

So why couldn't she just accept it, have them turn into their civilian forms in front of one another for future communication, and be done with the night? She was eager to have her head hit a pillow, and the Martian had hardly forgotten her own fatigue.

The only problem was, the distrusting warrior had.

"No. I know how this seems, but I'm sticking to this. I don't trust her," Rei's voice, at the very least, stressed as she pointed to Luna, "And I'm not inclined to like her very much either. It's a proxy thing." Her finger traveled to Mercury, dropping after a moment. Yes, Rei could feel it then – for some reason, this woman hated the darker of the two cats present with a (dare she make the pun?) _fiery_ passion.

The cat did her best not to seem too shocked, huffing indignantly as she sputtered, apparently unable to create an adequate response to that particular blow. Finally, she seemed to settle on one point alone, hissing in a very animalistic fashion before spitting out the words. "It's good to see that you're the same as ever, Mars. We couldn't have you being a _warm-hearted_ individual this time around, could we? Too much to ask, I suppose."

Rei took the brunt of the blow to her ego, stepping forward in her exhaustion to pull the warrior back. She'd had enough of her for one night. She wagered the dreams were on their way, too – let them come. Anything had to be better than this petty squabbling.

Artemis looked at her worriedly, spying his charge rub a temple with the slightest change of facial expression. A grimace – well, to _her_ it equated to as much. Rei very rarely cracked the mask she wore every day, and with the red one hiding her most expressive features, it was difficult to tell. But he knew her well enough now. He could practically hear her stomach lurch, looking almost longingly at the other senshi before scurrying back to the raven-haired girl, nudging her with his shoulder. "Maybe we should just go back? I'm sure we'll see these two later..."

Mars objected wildly within her to leaving this fight, and Rei's own pride ached for a moment before she stared at Mercury and Luna, nodding a touch at his suggestion. "Hey, you two!" he called almost cheerily. "We'll be patrolling again in about three nights... if you aren't caught by then, you might be interested in checking out the old warehouse down on Skyship Seven's loading bay."

That said, he quite literally turned tail and, with his young charge, scooted off down the street like a good little kitty. In their wake, the senshi of flame and passion and the jovial white cat left behind a very confused super genius, and an irate advisor.

***

Minako stared with a mixture of worry and relief at the chair that had been empty for the past week, bouncing slightly when she caught a certain pair of violet eyes and was able to hold them long enough to see what could have been a weak smile before the more studious of them returned her attention to the board.

Ah, history class. How she hated history class. She hated it even more, however, when there weren't gorgeous distractions. And every year? Every year, there was indeed a gorgeous distraction. Or at least a pretty one. And, okay, so most of her crushes didn't last the full year. Cough, month, cough. Insert sheepish head rub and grin here, and then get over it. Because she was entirely fine knowing that her infatuation with Rei had lasted far longer than most of her silly crushes in the past few years.

Really, it was a wonder she had ever dated! Think of it – didn't even like them, but willing to go for it just _because_. The blonde stared at the Martian even harder, trying to get her attention but to no avail. Girl was like a rock when it came to class. A rock who took notes.

Minako had already analyzed every part of this simple feat, of course. She knew that her crush was left-handed, and that her kanji always seemed to possess a delicate, looping quality. She wrote on a bit of a slant, and tilted the paper to make up for it, more often than not.

Putting her head in her hand, she quickly scribbled a note down, chucking it on the other's desk when their teacher's back was turned. She did not fancy detention again.

_'Movie at my place later?_

-Minako'

She watched as the other girl looked mildly surprised at having been the victim of such a thing, staring at the piece of paper for a moment before figuring out how to unfold the little square she'd put it in. She was beginning to feel a little disheartened, however, watching Rei return to her furious note-taking almost immediately after reading.

It was when she looked away that the paper came skidding across her desk, hastily folded into a crane as it flopped onto the (once again) empty page in her notebook.

_'Sure.'_ She smiled at the short response, noting how the woman avoided babble even in notes with the faintest flutter of fondness making its way through her core.

For the rest of the class, she was the epitome of attentive, though it seemed to confuse the other girl to no end. She didn't bother to pretend that it didn't thrill her just a bit to notice that the Martian had actually paused her usually unstoppable note-taking to look at her for a moment, and said look was indeed one-hundred percent adorable.

Truth be told, she was paying as little attention as usual, simply writing things she liked about Rei into her notebook over and over again. And of course, the customary 'Aino Rei' was scribbled a few times over, with little hearts drawn about it.

There was no way, however, that she wanted to appear unbusy, lest she receive another detention. Because a detention now would keep her from being able to work on Operation: Seduce a Martian (Codename Aphrodite!).

She'd begun noticing the others in their group staring at her while she was staring at her love interest. To say that it was a bit of a relief that maybe, just _maybe_ they were finally getting the picture was... an understatement. Maybe they'd help her out? Usagi in particular would be useful – think of the opportunities! They actually _lived_ together, after all! Lucky Usa...

When the class bell rang, she found herself holding back instead of tearing out of the room like a bat out of hell. Lately, it had been so. At first, their teacher had been absolutely floored. Wasn't this the girl that always needed to get herself out of there as quickly as possible? Yeah, yeah... he'd gotten used to it, though. Much like she had!

And it was nice, knowing that (other than a staring teacher) you were the only two people in the room. That if she really wanted to, if the world were a perfect place, she probably could've had Rei up against one of the many desks, pushing her to – oooooh holy crap!

The Venusian blushed lightly, running a hand above her lip to check for any signs of a nosebleed before letting out a breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding. Okay, that was close. She needed to stop fantasizing about the raven-haired temptress when they were due to spend some quality time together.

Unfortunately, the damage had been done – she'd pictured Rei beneath her. The evening was doomed to be dedicated to thinking up new ways to get a good view of her rear end. Or her chest. Or her face. Or thinking up ways to _touch_ her. Oh yeah, she liked the touchie... hehehe...

_'Stop! Hentai, hentai, hentai! Mina-chan, you're so... ewwwww! When did we become old, ecchi Minako-san?'_

Sighing, she gave up on thinking altogether, letting loose one final thought of _'DEAD KITTENS'_ in a final, desperate attempt to fully wipe the image of Rei moaning from her mind. And refused to let herself wonder just what such a moan would sound like anymore.

Jeez, who would've thought that FART would be the _nastiest_ time of her day? Other than anybody sane who would take one look at the acronym and go 'pee-ew' before holding their noses and prancing off.

Besides. This was time to move into RIT. No need for WRTT or FART when you had the real thing standing in front of you... wearing the same clothing as you, except a little bit differently, because she had those gorgeous legs that you just wanted to wrap around yourself sometime -

And again with the wayward thoughts. Alas, it appeared she was in desperate need of a cold shower. She'd make a mental note to get one later. After the movie. Or maybe before. Then she could show the Martian her slippery self, maybe 'accidentally' drop the towel a bi – ah! No! Bad Minako, bad!

"Um... Minako-chan?" It was rare that the raven-haired goddess would utter an 'um, ah, er' or any variation thereof in her speech. She spoke so rarely that, when she did, she seemed to possess a very clear idea of what to say. That was something which seemed to be broken in the moment, however, which left her a combination of confused and frightened. "Daijobu?"

Ah! She must have looked as spaced out as she actually had been! Oh, for heaven's sake... "Eheh! Nothing to worry about, Rei-chan!" she exclaimed brightly, looping her arm through the other girl's and bringing them closer together. Her free hand moved behind her head, falling just below a bright red bow in her hair to rub sheepishly at the golden locks there. "Just having a blonde moment, see? Come on, let's get walking!"

Rei gave a deft nod and allowed herself to be pulled out of the classroom by her very anxious friend.

***

She should have known better!

Chastising herself as she ran, the young woman felt herself pant, lungs virtually on fire as she struggled to retrieve air. Artemis rode in her schoolbag, directing her towards the promised meeting place. It was through a series of dark and winding alleys they would have to travel – him murmuring orders to turn left or right when the time came.

But they were going to be too late no matter how fast she ran. No matter if she was Sailor Mars, or simply Hino Rei. All because of some silly movie that had turned into –

"Left."

She turned, feeling her shoulder barely brush against the brick edge of a building as she did. It was old, as most of the establishments in this part of town were. The vast majority of structures were domes, semi-domes, or half-domes – circular, smooth on the outside. And she could see why now, as her clothing snagged and she felt a prick of pain in the affected area. Brick was outdated. For all she knew, they couldn't even make it anymore.

Good riddance to it, too. It was no skin off her back if they couldn't make their towers out of rough, angry red stone anymore. Given the amount of centuries since it had been used, she wagered it wasn't the best kind of material. It most likely had some 'fatal flaw' that kept it from being used. They had discovered that concrete would be destroyed in the event of a solar flare, after all. And, had they not started using tarplar in time, there would be no Mercurians to give her trouble today.

Her bag was flung to the ground hastily, Artemis leaping from it as she did this. "The Eye in the Sky?" he questioned, a soft reminder to his charge. The raven-haired girl gave a short nod before ducking into the warehouse. She wondered vaguely if the Eye in the Sky even bothered with this part of town. Nothing had been done about its exceptionally high crime, as it were, and no footage from the place had ever been recovered.

Still, one could never be too careful. She found herself behind a good amount of boxes, waiting a moment before raising a pen-like object and shouting, "Mars Power... Make Up!"

Fire everywhere, and then, nothing. She felt alert, awake... for the most part. Another half of her seemed to just rouse from sleep, pulling itself together for the occasion of transformation. Her senses heightened with its awakening, and she needn't doubt for an instant that it was _her_ making her presence known.

Whatever. She needed to get to the _right___warehouse now.

Sailor Mars came out at a run, more agile now that she had donned her uniform. Because miniskirts and fuck-me heels were obviously conducive to that. It was probably for the best that she had gotten over the ridiculous attire a while back.

Even if the amount of panty shots did get annoying when she had to watch herself fighting as The Eye in the Sky sent footage of her across The Wire.

Skyship Seven's loading bay turned out to be further away than she had thought. "Artemis," she huffed, glaring at the white cat through her red mask. He sheepishly grinned up at her, a nervous laugh coming from the cat's prone form.

"I'm sorry! I forgot the guards actually patrolled this area on Friday's!"

"No you didn't. You want me to fight with her."

He smirked as best a feline could, which was really quite an odd sight to behold. The sounds of a fight up ahead reached their ears loud and clear as the fuku-clad soldier nodded before jumping onto a barrel, then the roof of the old warehouse. Its comparatively short stature, the boost, and her currently enhanced senses made the feat easy enough to accomplish.

Red heels clicked across the tin roof as she ran to the other side. Sailor Mars jumped to the ground with no fear, turning about and entering the warehouse's only door with little to no stealth.

The area was covered in positively freezing bubbles, none of which popped when they brushed against her skin. _'Mercury.'_

_'See? I told you not to go to that girl's house, but you never listen to me unless you're in uniform. What am I to you, some plaything you can break out when the going gets rough? You need to listen more, damn it.'_

_'Shh. No talking.'_

_'I'm not technically talking.'_

_Silence._

_'Oh, not the silent treatment again. I can't believe this. All my previous incarnations had a bit more umph than you. In fact, most were vocal _masters_. What's your excuse?'_

_Silence._

_'Fine. Fuck it. I'm leaving.'_

Sailor Mars stumbled, feeling her body uneasily adjust to both the cold and the sudden jerk of her muscles. _'Stop that.'_

_'Stop what? If you won't listen to what I have to say, I'm not letting you borrow my form.'_

_'Alright, _what_ already!'_

_'Hmph. Fuck you. Figure it out yourself.'_

Though the presence didn't fight her transformation anymore, it did recede within her mind. Which, in turn, left her to her own devices. Alright, she could do this... no Artemis, and practically blind. Sure, she'd be fine. She had other senses to rely on.

The goosebumps along her arms and legs said that she'd best hurry, though. Before she froze to death.

Something came slicing through the fog beside her, causing the senshi to jump a bit. Dark energy – so some of the guards were still alive. The Feet That Marched were relentless, she thought with a bit of an exasperated sigh, heading for what she hoped was a nearby wall. While her flames might have cut through the fog, she didn't want to risk exposing herself when, for all she knew, Mercury had been taken down.

Damn it, this bubble attack wasn't just annoying, it was fucking _useless. _Especially indoors.

_'Hmph. Trust your intuition, would you?'_

_'Welcome back,'_ she thought hastily, hearing the warrior step back into the picture, apparently trying to swallow her pride just a bit.

_'Do what I say and we won't have problems. You know how this works.'_ Nodding to herself, she followed a plethora of instructions being pumped into her mind. Closing her eyes, she proceeded to focus. She had other senses beyond sight – though sometimes, you had to blind yourself to realize it.

And suddenly, everything was clear. She visualized the warehouse within her mind, seeing its faded walls and cracked floor before taking in the low apex of its roof. Three-dimensional and functional, she traced a path in red that she assumed she had taken since entering the building, before a final red dot became herself. That blade of energy had come from... right, there. Due to its trajectory, that put at least one enemy approximately...

A black dot appeared. Sounds of a scuffle to her right, men hollering at one another, and she put three more in place. Which only left one presence to identify.

This one was harder. There was no sound to focus on, but there was plenty of logic. She was using the fog to her advantage, yes? If Mars was to assume that much, then it could be thought that the senshi of ice was hiding based on strategy. Two theoretical blue dots appeared in her mind, and she blindly made her way towards one.

Her stiletto-clad foot came crushing down on something long and furry, causing an inhuman yowl to come from whatever she had just trod upon. _Shit_. The cat. She had forgotten that there were two, though she forced herself to ignore it as she pushed Mercury to the ground.

A dark energy disc went soaring where their heads had been, the visor-wearing woman beneath her sucking in her breath audibly as it flew overhead. Without apology, Mars rose. There was no use in being stealthy now.

She shot fire through the warehouse, not caring if she brought the whole building to the ground. She wasn't aiming for anything in particular – more or less hoping that the guards would either run and be done with it, or -

"You're bringing down the building!" Luna squawked, scurrying onto her charge's shoulder before the blue-clad senshi could rise as well. "We have to get out of here before your clumsiness crushes us!"

_'Hmph. I'd call these two a grand old pair of ingrates.'_ The secondary voice relented, allowing her to nod in agreement before they took off towards the door. The senshi of fire pushed the pair out in front of her as she ran, whipping open the door with one hand as the other stopped the go-go boots-wearing Mercurian from running too far ahead before everybody came rolling out of the building.

The night sky lit up like fireworks as guards inside shrieked, apparently not having as much luck finding the exit as they had. Mars found herself hoping that they died of smoke inhalation instead of the torturous flames, for once. Mercy on her mind, she looked at the small, bag-toting white cat coming her way. He seemed to be struggling with the bookbag, clenching it tightly between his teeth for a moment. "Stupid human accessories... Mars!"

Artemis gave up the fight to approach his tired charge, looking at her curiously before looking to the other pair, dirty and worn as they stood against the flames and night horizon. "Are they - "

"We're fine, no thanks to your reckless actions," Luna huffed, nursing her throbbing and swollen tail with a grimace. "Did you set us up?"

"If we had," the mostly-silent Mars began, "I wouldn't have saved you in the end."

"Mars was preoccupied earlier," the white cat supplied, purring and rubbing his body against her leg shamelessly as she scratched behind his ear. "Ah, I love that spot!"

"Well, regardless... it's good that you came, I suppose. Even if you did do more damage than I had previously expected. Mercury – detransform." Everybody stared at the small cat as though she'd lost her mind – Mars in particular. If Mercury did that, would she be expected to do the same? Something told her she would.

And she wasn't entirely certain that that was something she wanted at this moment.

There was a blinding blue light, however, as the woman before her turned into someone incredibly familiar. No. There was no way -

There was. "M... Mizuno-san?" she questioned before she could stop herself, feeling the other presence slowly leave her body as a soft red light enveloped her. It took her fuku and heels, leaving her in a schoolgirl's uniform.

Two fingers carefully removed the red mask over violet eyes as the dark-haired warrior stood before them as only Hino Rei – the girl who said next to nothing each and every lunch hour, class shared, or study session. The Martian who broke all the clichés and stereotypes. "Rei-san!"

It was then that Ami fainted, leaving three concerned beings to get her away before the Eye in the Sky knew enough to leave the burning mess of a warehouse in order to look for the possible arsonist.

***

Minako stared wide-eyed at the old warehouse. Had she honestly just been a witness to that? Was she dreaming?

"_Nnn..." Aw. She was _adorable _when she was asleep! The blonde giggled, running a hand through the dark bangs that fell across the Martian's face. It was a bit shorter than her own, though certain features seemed a bit more pronounced. Her nose was a perfect triangle, for one. Minako's own was upturned slightly, and gave her a snooty air she'd never been particularly fond of. Rei's eyes also slanted differently – whilst her own had virtually no slant at all._

_Higher cheekbones than she had. An adorable little dusting of freckles across the bridge of the aforementioned nose. Gorgeous, dark eyelashes that touched the porcelain skin. Her fingers ghosted over the girl's face, barely fighting off a contented sigh. The skin was so soft – so utterly worth being caught._

"_Hey Sleepy. You said to wake you up at six, and it's nine-thirty," the Venusian offered. She hadn't exactly recalled when she had also fallen asleep, nor when she'd woken up. Though her words elicited a very violent response from her not-too-secret crush._

_Rei bolted upright, shoulders squared as her eyes snapped open. Springing from the couch with a grunt, she began to collect her things, hastily stuffing them into her bag. "I'm sorry," she muttered, giving the other a look before racing towards the door. The taller of the pair understood the meaning - '_I have to go_'. _

_It had been when she'd seen her go racing down the road in the wrong direction, a white cat bounding after her, that she became a bit more suspicious. And, though it hadn't been right, she'd put on a coat and shoes and had taken off after the Martian._

_Who was, if what she'd witnessed at the first warehouse was any indication, Sailor Mars._

Holy. Shit.

x0x

Whew! That was a doozy of a chapter! Nearly eleven pages long and all. x3 Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. Drop me a review? I just started on the next chapter today, once I got over feeling super-accomplished with finishing this one. ^^; But I've gotten rid of that terrible beast known as writer's block, so I'd say expect more soon! Especially since it's exam time, and we all know how I (don't) study! ^^;

**ShinyMushroom** ; *laughs* Why, thank you very much! x3 Your enthusiasm is well-appreciated! ^^ I hope this chapter appeases you. ^^

**MinaRayeFan** ; Probably not as hot, but at least I kept it comin'! xD Thank you!

**Reviewer** ; Thank you! ^^ Everybody seems to have enjoyed the 'FART' thing. x3 And I have every intention of keeping it around. I didn't really get it from anywhere, I just kind of realized what the abbreviation would be after I typed out 'Fantasize About Rei Time'. xD I'll admit to it just being a happy accident.

**ChrisGranger** ; Thanks! And yes. Rei is screwed. xD

**Claire** ; Thank you for the review! And yeah, I was aiming for a Rei who was able to feel better than a peanut-brained dinosaur this time around. x3 Or maybe just one with a bit less pride.

**WITS** ; Thanks bunny. x3 But hey! That isn't just your candy. =/ That was for all the kids! Now be nice and share. *reproving look*

**Krampus** ; Thanks! I know, I'm a massive nerd for 'chillin' like a villain'. Amongst other things. But no offense taken – I revel in my nerdery! Your friend, he sounds hip like chip dip. 8D He and I should meet someday and just rattle off these strange little sayings. x3 I hope the changing of voices throughout this chapter and that sloppy bit didn't throw off the last one's decency too much. =/

**LunarMiko07** ; Thanks mate! ^^ I'm glad you liked it.

**Spikesagitta** ; Thank you! x3 I'm hoping to get into further characterization for both of them down the road. Where I'm working in the future, I feel so... liberated. I can make them anything I want! Score. x3 But I'm glad you like what you've seen of them so far!

**pri815** ; Haha, thank you! x3 And yes, I also wonder what's on Rei's mind... probably a bad sign, since I should know. D:

**esla** ; Thank you! I know this wasn't the day you reviewed, but I hope it was soon enough after. ^^; And yeah, none of us want her dying... so here's a little help in the form of Mercury, all for Mars. ;D Not quite the help everybody wanted her to have, I'm sure. xD


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